President Barack Obama is summoning VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to the White House Friday morning.

The meeting comes amid mounting calls for the embattled Shinseki to resign. There are widespread allegations of treatment delays at VA hospitals around the country. Shinseki is expected to give the president an update on a review he has been conducting.

Last week, Barack Obama had the perfect set-up to dismiss Shinseki. The scandal had made it clear that Shinseki had little knowledge and even less control over the VA despite years of bragging about improvements, and despite massive growth in the VA budget (78% over six budget cycles, and $235 billion in additions over the FY2008 baseline.) Instead of asking for Shinseki’s resignation, though, Obama kept him on board and extolled Shinseki’s qualities, although pointedly not his work.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki apologized Friday for what he called “irresponsible and unacceptable” practices at VA health care facilities and announced that he has started the process of firing leadership at the Phoenix facility at the epicenter of the scandal.

‘Given the facts I now know, I apologize as the senior leader of the Department of Veterans Affairs,” he said at a meeting of the National Coalition of Homeless Veterans in Washington D.C.

“I cannot explain the lack of integrity among some of the leaders of our health care facilities,” he said. “This is something I rarely encountered during 38 years in uniform. And so I will not defend it, because it is indefensible, but I can take responsibility for it and I do.”

President Barack Obama is set to meet with Shinseki at 10:15 a.m. ET Friday “to receive an update on the situation at the Department of Veterans Affairs.”

Last night, Obama let it be known that he wanted to have a “serious conversation” with Shinseki about whether he was the right man to reform the organization that, er, he’s led for the past five and a half years:

President Obama said he will have a “serious conversation” with Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki about whether he’s the right person to address the veterans’ care crisis.

The comment, made during an interview taped Thursday for “Live! with Kelly and Michael,” was played on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Friday.

With calls for him to resign hanging over his head, Shinseki on Friday will face representatives of people particularly vulnerable to his agency’s medical failings.

The problem is that Obama seems to be the last person having that conversation:

So does this mean that Shinseki will get the boot? If Obama wanted to gain himself some breathing space on the scandal, then he could have done so last week. The new IG report created a quantum leap in pressure to act since then, but if that’s what Obama had in mind, then why did the White House allow Shinseki to make his speech this morning? That sounds like the beginning of an attempt at rehabilitating Shinseki, especially with his announcement that he’s sacking the executive management at the Phoenix VA.

We’ll see. So far, the only announcement from the White House is that the meeting will take place at 10:15. If they call a presser later like they did last week, I’d bet that it won’t be to extol Shinseki’s virtues a second time.

Update: This should get the White House worried about another endorsement of Shinseki’s continued run at the VA:

Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), a former Veterans Affairs official who lost both of her legs while serving in combat during the Iraq war, said Friday that her former boss Eric Shinseki should resign.

“Our first priority should be the veterans and at this point whether Secretary Shinseki will stay or go is too much of a distraction,” she said in an exclusive interview with The Washington Post. “I think he has to go. He certainly loves veterans, but it’s time for new leadership, it’s time to get someone in who will put veterans first. We’ve moved away from veterans being the primacy of the conversation. It’s now a political discussion and that’s not where it should be when it comes to our nation’s heroes.”

Blowback

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Sounds like the ObamaBus is getting ready for another victim to be thrown under it… Of course that bus has to have been upgraded with monster truck tiers by now to have enough ground clearance for all the bodies…

Looking good for those of us who predicted Shinseki would be the Friday news “dump”.

Now the question is where he resurfaces… Which Soros “thinktank” organization would be best suited for an anti-American former general?

“I cannot explain the lack of integrity among some of the leaders of our health care facilities,” he said. “This is something I rarely encountered during 38 years in uniform. And so I will not defend it, because it is indefensible, but I can take responsibility for it and I do.”

Lack of integrity starts at the top you worthless crap weasel!

he has started the process of firing leadership at the Phoenix facility at the epicenter of the scandal.

Phoenix isn’t the epicenter. It was just the first crack in the dam. Before we knew that every VA facility had these unofficial wait lists as a matter of policy to willfully hide the real wait times.

President Barack Obama plans to meet with Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki on Friday morning and says he will have a “serious conversation” with him about his “capacity” to adequately handle the problems in the department.

Well that makes me feel so much better…we can all relax now and know that it is being taken care of by our president…

And tell Putin he dodged a bullet, that could have been him receiving a “serious conversation”…

Sounds like the ObamaBus is getting ready for another victim to be thrown under it… Of course that bus has to have been upgraded with monster truck tiers by now to have enough ground clearance for all the bodies…

Looking good for those of us who predicted Shinseki would be the Friday news “dump”.

Now the question is where he resurfaces… Which Soros “thinktank” organization would be best suited for an anti-American former general?

ConstantineXI on May 30, 2014 at 9:22 AM

There have been very few top official that have been thrown under the bus.

There have been very few top official that have been thrown under the bus.

Bigbullets on May 30, 2014 at 9:25 AM

thats because obama is a good leader who does not bow to public pressure when it is wrong. he is loyal to his people and leaves no man behind. he knows shinsenski is not to blame and will not punish him accordingly.

thats because obama is a good leader who does not bow to public pressure when it is wrong. he is loyal to his people and leaves no man behind. he knows shinsenski is not to blame and will not punish him accordingly.

ThisIsYourBrainOnKoch on May 30, 2014 at 9:30 AM

Wrong, racist, it’s because Barack HUSSEIN Obama is the perfect messiah, the 12th imam, Teh Won we’ve all been waiting for.

You figure Obama has to fire him at this point. Then again, I wouldn’t be surprised if he still resists the calls to do so. Maybe(and I’m just spitballing here) the reason he’s so hesitant aside from his massive ego is that the moment he cans Shinseki, he essentially takes ownership of the problem(i.e. the Limbaugh Theorem).

Sure, Obama and the Dems will try afterwards to say the problem is solved now that Shinseki is gone, but if this really is systemic and widespread and reports of dead veterans keep surfacing, this scandal could consume the rest of his Presidency. Plus Obama hates to actually do any real work.

thats because obama is a good leader who does not bow to public pressure when it is wrong. he is loyal to his people and leaves no man behind. he knows shinsenski is not to blame and will not punish him accordingly.

ThisIsYourBrainOnKoch on May 30, 2014 at 9:30 AM

Do you think Obama is incompetent because he’s black, or are there other factors?

thats because obama is a good leader who does not bow to public pressure when it is wrong. he is loyal to his people and leaves no man behind. he knows shinsenski is not to blame and will not punish him accordingly.

Shinseki, like all upper management, is shocked to find the American people expected him to actually perform some function during his tenure. At the very least he could have read an email or two concerning the long ago reported scheduling and care failures.

Fire Shinseki and fine and jail every single person who gained from this deplorable wait-list scheme.

thats because obama is a good leader who does not bow to public pressure when it is wrong. he is loyal to his people and leaves no man behind. he knows shinsenski is not to blame and will not punish him accordingly.

ThisIsYourBrainOnKoch on May 30, 2014 at 9:30 AM

You’ve posted this exact comment in other threads – right down to the misspelling of “Shinseki.” You’re not very good at this trolling thing, are ya.

thats because obama is a good leader who does not bow to public pressure when it is wrong. he is loyal to his people and leaves no man behind. he knows shinsenski is not to blame and will not punish him accordingly.

ThisIsYourBrainOnKoch on May 30, 2014 at 9:30 AM

Ol KockOnTheBrain reminds me of the dude you see wandering around in any major downtown area…pantless and sniffing airplane glue muttering to himself.

Do you think Obama is incompetent because he’s black, or are there other factors?

Bigbullets on May 30, 2014 at 9:37 AM

The non-threatening beta-make personality traits Obama had to have to get elected make him an incompetent leader. If he was more aggressive and decisive with his hard left ideology, he would have scared away not just general election voters, but Democratic primary voters in 2008, who would have run to Hillary out of fear Obama was nothing more than Al Sharpton with teleprompter-reading ability.

He’s not incompetent because he’s black. He’s incompetent because he’s a black liberal who had to hide who he really was to get elected, and never would have been able to do so over a two-year election campaign with an alpha-male personality. (At the same time, it’s not that those on the left thought Obama was going to be this much of a wimp as president. They knew he was lying to the American public about his beliefs during the 2008 election and were hoping he also was lying to them about his temperament, and once sworn in would turn into alpha-male Barack who would go full Hugo Chavez on his and their enemies. The fact he is who he was personality-wise has frustrated them since that time, and as the failures bubble up more and more so does their anger and frustration at Obama.)

thats because obama is a good leader…..blah..blah..blah he is loyal to his people and leaves no man behind. blah..blah..blah…he knows shinsenski is not to blame and will not punish him accordingly. blah..blah…blah..

ThisIsYourBrainOnKoch on May 30, 2014 at 9:30 AM

Say it enough times…
And you can almost feel the awesomeness of Obama…

Eric Shinseki
51m
Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki on hospital scandal: ‘I will not defend it … But I will take responsibility for it’ – @DavidMDrucker
see original on twitter.com
============================

The White House, Washington, DC, US
55m
White House says President Obama will meet with Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki at 10:15 am ET in the Oval Office – @nedrapickler
see original on twitter.com
===========================

1h
Photo: Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki before beginning his speech to National Coalition for Homeless Veterans – @dougmillsnyt
see original on twitter.com
============================

Eric Shinseki
1h
Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki says last few weeks have been ‘challenging’ for the VA; says VA has proven it can fix problems – live video
End of alert

thats because obama is a good leader who does not bow to public pressure when it is wrong. he is loyal to his people and leaves no man behind. he knows shinsenski is not to blame and will not punish him accordingly. ThisIsYourBrainOnKoch on May 30, 2014 at 9:30 AM

You’ve posted this exact comment in other threads – right down to the misspelling of “Shinseki.” TarheelBen on May 30, 2014 at 9:41 AM

Under Shinseki our veterans lost their lives. Stop the babbling BS Obama and fire this despicable man. And yes, I know he was a general but frankly I couldn’t care less if he was a 13 star general, he must be punished for his neglect and incompetence.

thats because obama is a good leader who does not bow to public pressure when it is wrong. he is loyal to his people and leaves no man behind. he knows shinsenski is not to blame and will not punish him accordingly.

ThisIsYourBrainOnKoch on May 30, 2014 at 9:30 AM

THAT is some funny sh1t!

What a good leader does is remove the head of the organization, then sends in someone competent to clean house, a hammer to recalibrate the department. After that, he puts in another competent leader to build the place back up.

Obama is incapable of such actions.

We saw what a “good leader” he was when he went to bed while one of his Ambassadors was being slaughtered. A real leader would have camped out in the situation room.

If Obama does sack Shinseki, I wonder what Shinseki would think to be more honorable to do, be honest and open about how he followed Obama’s direction on implementing the secret wait lists, or continue to be silent about it?

The non-threatening beta-make personality traits Obama had to have to get elected make him an incompetent leader. If he was more aggressive and decisive with his hard left ideology, he would have scared away not just general election voters, but Democratic primary voters in 2008, who would have run to Hillary out of fear Obama was nothing more than Al Sharpton with teleprompter-reading ability.

He’s not incompetent because he’s black. He’s incompetent because he’s a black liberal who had to hide who he really was to get elected, and never would have been able to do so over a two-year election campaign with an alpha-male personality. (At the same time, it’s not that those on the left thought Obama was going to be this much of a wimp as president. They knew he was lying to the American public about his beliefs during the 2008 election and were hoping he also was lying to them about his temperament, and once sworn in would turn into alpha-male Barack who would go full Hugo Chavez on his and their enemies. The fact he is who he was personality-wise has frustrated them since that time, and as the failures bubble up more and more so does their anger and frustration at Obama.)